Get Bookkeeping Help ...

or Do-It-Yourself Bookkeeping?

Should you get bookkeeping help to do your books or should you do the books yourself?

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There are two schools of thought on this. One says yes, it's good to do it yourself and … you guessed it, the other says no, don't do it yourself - get some bookkeeping help ... hire a professional bookkeeper to do your books.

This article should help you decide what is best for you ... AND for your business ... because it's not always about you! :0)

Welcome to Bookkeeping Essentials - The Help!

In a hurry? You will find a list of articles in this section (and every section) further down the page ... entitled What You Will Find in "The Help" section that helps you decide which way to go ... DIY or get bookkeeping help.

If you are looking for bookkeeping information on how to do-it-yourself (DIY), AND you have some idea on how to do bookkeeping, head on over to "The Practice" section ... just for a start.

Make sure you check out your monthly bookkeeping responsibilities in the article How To Do Month-End.

You might also want to check out The 5 Components Every Bookkeeping System Must Have if you decide you are not going to get bookkeeping help.

If you want to do your own books, AND don't know where to start, then check out How to Get Started.

Now with that out of the way ...

I want to say right up front, that if you are just terrible with numbers, dislike doing paperwork, or really hate bookkeeping ... hire some help. Your business will thank you and you can spend your time on other things you are good at.

Why do I say this? Well if you don't prepare your books properly and avoid common mistakes made in data entry, it will cost you money in the long term. :O(

This usually occurs due to a lack of understanding of accounting principles ... Hopefully bookkeeping-essentials.com helps you overcome this particular weakness. ;-)

While small business accounting software is great, there are certain procedures that must be followed within the program ... to avoid expensing an invoice twice, just as an example.

As a general rule, it's good to learn the bookkeeping process. As your business grows in the volume and complexity of transactions, outsourcing is the better alternative than doing the books yourself. This is a good solution if you have less than ten employees.

Once you have ten employees, Allen Bostram CPA author of "In The Black", advises hiring a bookkeeper to work right on your business premises.

… with that said ... let's have another cup of tea!

What you will find in "The Help" section

Here are the articles - some short and some long ... all written to help you decide between the two options - should you DIY or should you hire bookkeeping help.

Just click on any of the links of your choice or an underlined title (for longer articles) and you'll pop over to the next page where you'll get more information.

First Option - DIY Bookkeeping

New pages are added to this site regularly. There is a lot of information here. If you have decided to not get bookkeeping help, how do you get started doing your own books ... and using this site as your resource? Here's what I suggest (follow each link):

1. Get informed on your record keeping requirements required by law.
2. Organize your source documents. If you are going to be operating part of your business from your vehicle, consider this portable file organization system.
3. Learn some basic accounting principles and good bookkeeping practices.
4. Choose your bookkeeping system.
• If you choose QuickBooks to be your bookkeeping program, be sure to check out QuickBooks Tips for Common Bookkeeping Entries - Avoiding Beginner's Mistakes.
5. Create your chart of accounts (COA).
6. Learn your debits and credits so you can post to accounts properly.
7. Learn about special transactions to watch out for.
8. Record and properly classify your transactions regularly. Consider using Accounts Payable as part of your internal controls by using it as a clearing account for ALL purchases and expenses regardless of payment source.

   One of the benefits to you is ease in settling billing disputes. Robert Guild advises in Don't Let People Waste Your Time Doing Their Bookkeeping that you can then e-mail them a pdf attachment of the Vendor Balance Detail report so they can reconcile their billing statement errors ... saving you time. Their poor accounting practices and/or bookkeeping help will no longer take up an excessive amount of your time.

   Mr. Guild also points out that you can also provide a Cheque Detail report if your vendor wants to know which invoices were paid by cheque.





9. Prepare your government reports and remit amounts owing by the due date.
10. Reconcile your bank and other accounts.
11. Perform your month-end procedures.
12. Learn about adjusting entries.
13. Learn how to read your financial statements.
14. Learn how to review your financial statements for accuracy so you can self-assess your work.
15. Learn about tax planning opportunities available to the self-employed.

In Canada, you must use the accrual basis of accounting for tax purposes. Only farmers and fishermen can use the cash basis of accounting.

Accrual basis of accounting means you record the transaction when it happens. The cash basis of accounting records the transaction when the money exchanges hands.

The advantage of accrual accounting is you can keep track of who owes you money in your accounts receivable account and when it is due ... helping you manage your cash flow. You can also track who you owe money to in your accounts payable account and when it is due ... helping you keep your credit rating intact.

If you decide not to do your own books because it's more work than you thought, check out my services.

1. Avoid using computer software that is not suited to your size of business or your skill level. This is one of the biggest mistakes DIY bookkeepers make.

You may be interested in reading A Yardstick to Evaluate Your Book Keeping System.

It helps you decide which bookkeeping system is best for your business by giving you system criteria (manual or computer) and questions to ask yourself. The article should assist you in determining whether you need bookkeeping help ... or if DIY is the best choice for you.

2. Don't fall behind on billing your customers ... and followup quickly when payments are overdue.

Here is a short chat on invoicing and accounts receivable. Follow the links in the chat.

3. File all your tax compliance reports on time, even if you can't pay them. If you just don't have the time to get to them, that is an indication you need bookkeeping help.

On "The Deadlines" page, you will find all your due dates you must meet as a small business owner.

4. Too many DIY bookkeepers pay too much tax because their records are not accurate enough to claim valid tax deductions.

You might want to check out "The Tax" section to bring yourself up-to-date on valid tax deductions.

There is a series on Tax Planning Opportunities. Some tax deductions require advance planning on your part, before tax preparation, to enable you to deduct them.

5. My last tip for you is to always do your bank reconciliation and credit card reconciliation every month.

Consider it part of your month end process.

When you have a bookkeeping question, consider asking me for help.

Some quick pointers to watch out for so you can avoid having bookkeeping records that stink … literally!

... otherwise you will be shelling out big bucks for bookkeeping help in the future.

Please spend some time on The Bookkeeping Tips page as a method to bring you quickly up to speed on what you need to know.

You will also find some tips on good practices here.

If you use QuickBooks, find out how to avoid this common beginner's error ... avoid expensing a bill twice and other common mistakes.

Before you can do your own books, you need to have an understanding of some essential bookkeeping principles. Are you asking questions like this:

• Do I include revenue not collected on the income statement?
• Do I have to keep the debit receipts pertaining to my own business?
• Does accounts receivable go on the income statement?
• Does an income statement always report a net income?
• Does the bank loan get included with expenses on the income statement?
• Does cash received go on the income statement?
• Does revenue on the income statement include credit sales?
• What is the adjusting entry for a bill received but unpaid?
• What is the accounting entry to reverse a sale?

If you are asking any of these questions (or questions similar to these), spend some time in The Training section of this website before you even touch your books ... or consider taking this affordable course designed for non-accountants.

If after going through that section every thing still sounds like Greek and you don't feel you have answers to your questions ... you need to hire a bookkeeper. You don't have a firm enough grasp of basic bookkeeping principles to keep a set of books that will keep you out of trouble with the tax auditor ... but I'm sure you excel at other things that you would rather be spending your time on! ;0)

Second Option - Get Bookkeeping Help

A peek at the various services offered by bookkeepers to assist you in deciding whether you should be hiring a freelance bookkeeper or not.

• Record and properly classify your bookkeeping transactions on a regular basis to ensure you get all of your tax deductions so you pay lower taxes and keep more money in your pocket.
• Perform month-end procedures which includes credit card and bank reconciliations.
• Regular filing of your GST returns and other government compliance returns ... so you never miss a filing deadline again ... say good-bye to those late filing penalty charges.
• Prepare monthly internal financial statements to help you run your business ... and you could review the bookkeeper's work by performing the monthly financial review.
• Customize your management reporting package to your needs.

If you are behind on record keeping, months or even years, a bookkeeper can help bring your books up-to-date so that you are in compliance with the law.

If you do decide to hire a bookkeeper, you may want to consider a segregation of duties to protect your business against fraud.

Now you have an idea of what a bookkeeper does and how bookkeeping help can free you up for other tasks.

Return to Lakeshore Bookkeeping Services

This article looks at how bookkeeping fees are structured. You will also find tips on how to save money on your professional fees.

This article contains a side bar on Third Party Civil Penalties.

As a business owner, you cannot fully delegate the task of your finances. Even if you hire a bookkeeper, there are tasks that you should monitor and review on an ongoing basis.

When you hire bookkeeping help, there are some tasks that only you can do and are responsible for. Here are a few that come to mind:

• Learn what an official receipt is.
• Have a method of saving and organizing your receipts and other business records to submit to your bookkeeper on a timely basis ... especially if you want to lower your bookkeeping fees.
• Keep your personal financial affairs completely separate from your business affairs.
• Keep an auto mileage log if you want to claim business use of your personal vehicle on your annual tax return.
• Retain the appropriate paperwork to submit to your bookkeeper ... so you can claim your home office expenses ... which will reduce your tax bill.
• Keep your books and records in accordance with record retention requirements.

Your bookkeeper will probably have you sign an engagement letter explaining your responsibilities and their responsibilities.

There will probably be a clause stating that they will believe that the records you supply are true and accurate.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) imposes penalties on tax payers who do not observe due care in reporting their income.

Since 2000, the bookkeeper can be held responsible and is expected to provide sufficient bookkeeping service to comply with the Income Tax Act of Canada.

It is your responsibility to provide true, complete and accurate information so that your bookkeeper can act according to the law.

Neel Roberts of PTC Canada and author of "The Canadian Tax Secrets Guide" says, "Protect your integrity as a taxpayer. Make sure your information is accurate and prepared honestly."

Take a second right now to learn about the cash myth.

Then learn what it means when you sign your tax return ... because you don't want to forget that the information from your bookkeeping is used to prepare your tax return.

Always remember that getting bookkeeping help does not relieve you of your responsibilities.

Return to Lakeshore Bookkeeping Services

The decision of how to handle your books isn’t easy. Hopefully this section of the website will assist you in your decision about “The Help” ... whether you hire yourself or outside bookkeeping help.

And remember, when you have a bookkeeping question, consider asking me for help.

Bookkeeping can be fun ... if you have good bookkeeping help! :O)

source: Karen’s Linguistics Issues “Inspirational Quotes for Teachers and Learners”

The Help - Links

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